Sometimes Business Ideas Aren't Ready For Primetime

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Sometimes Business Ideas Aren’t Ready For Primetime

Everyone needs plan. Every company needs a plan. The company’s goal is to keep its initiative moving forward and within the plan that has been designed.

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By Gerald Wheelus
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Can our attitudes sometimes force companies to contain our enthusiasm? Sometimes, enthusiasm can outrun the companies we work for. Maybe the company is not ready to absorb our ideas. Or, it may not have the means to implement them. Maybe the timing isn’t right. Our ideas may be great; they may even be needed; but again, the timing may be off. It’s not so much that the company wants us to check our brains at the door, rather they want us to work within the company’s current plans. But we may not be privy to all the big-picture ideas.

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Everyone needs plan. Every company needs a plan. The company’s goal is to keep its initiative moving forward and within the plan that has been designed. Hopefully, the company you work for has a plan of some kind, and that plan may not include your ideas as of this moment. That does not mean your ideas are not of value. They may not be on the agenda, for now. This is where your attitude has to stay in check. You have to be patient.

Ambition can actually be our worst enemy if it’s not harnessed correctly. Ambitious people are often the ones whose attitudes are affected the most as most often the clock ticks slowest for them. Frequently with ambitious people, self-expectation is the highest. But, the one thing that rarely wavers in those with ambition is a more positive attitude than those around them. This combination of attitude and ambition often translates into an innate ability to control their attitudes and achieve their ambitions by developing and honing their abilities. 

Some people call ambitious people lucky. I don’t think of it that way. “Luck” gets cited as the reason many things happen in life. But learning, studying, sacrificing and being patient are how most ambitious people make things happen.

When all is said and done, the company may not be asking you to check your brain at the door; just to let it rest for a bit until the appropriate time comes when Attitude, Ambition, Ability and Accountability meet.

Gerald Wheelus is general manager of Edgewood Auto Parts, Edgewood, Texas.

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Customer Service: How It’s Done

Customer service should be your number one priority, and it all starts with the greeting.

Eric Garbe
By Eric Garbe
Eric Garbe is a graduate of Columbus State Community College with a degree in Automotive Maintenance Technology. He has extensive independent and dealership field experience as a technician and shop owner and is an ASE Certified Master Technician and former Adjunct Automotive Professor. He has been professionally writing automotive technical articles and documents for many years and in his free time enjoys restoring old cars and creating custom interiors and upholstery.
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This is always an important topic to discuss, because I consider excellent customer service one of the most important tools you can have to earn trust, respect and repeat business from the customers that come through your door. Whether that customer is do-it-yourselfer from across town or the professional repair shop across the street, your business depends on a solid relationship.It’s a subject that I am passionate about, and it’s one that many people are losing touch with. Whether you are communicating to someone in person, on the phone or using some type of social media, good customer service and bad can both exist. You can’t afford the latter, so this is the first in a series of topics which can and should be shared from the front of the shop to the back. No matter which role you hold, you represent the shop and yourself. Customer service should be your number one priority.First on the list is the greeting. From the second a customer walks in the door, they need to know you appreciate them coming in and how important they are to your business. First impressions are everything and here’s the correct way to do it each and every time: look them directly in the eye, smile and say hello!Of course, you can say “Good morning” or “Welcome to Joe’s Autocare,” but it should be a formal greeting and the most important thing is that you have smiled, looked them in the eye and recognized that they have walked through the door.You should always retain a formal greeting until you are on a first-name basis with a customer. Only once you have established that level of relationship is it OK to use the less formal greeting of “Hi,” followed by the person’s name.This greeting does more than just indicate respect and appreciation for someone walking through the door. Most likely there are customers both new and old who are in earshot of your conversation. For newer customers, this continues to build rapport and reinforce their positive view of your shop; they see that you demonstrate respect and treat everyone in the same manner. For repeat customers, even ones that have been coming for years, the greeting is important because the way you treat them is the reason they continue to come.And when a long-time customer comes in and you greet them with “Hi [First Name],” this indicates your appreciation for them and that you’re glad to see them as a person, more than just a customer. New customers that witness this will see that your repeat customers are comfortable enough to be on a first-name basis, another indication of the trust they have in you.

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